ABSTRACT
Arguably the theory supporting this can be traced back to Professor Michael Porter when he considered the competitive forces in a given market and then strung together the analyses of several markets in a supply chain to form the 'value network'. Supply and value-chain analysis builds on Porter's concepts and incorporates supply-chain mapping, supply-chain analysis and value-chain analysis. It is essential that a clear distinction is made between primary and secondary supply chains, with the focus remaining firmly on the primary supply chain. The greatest challenge with supply and value-chain analysis is the time and resource requirement that accompanies this activity; it can be lengthy and time-consuming. The biggest issue is that if organisations try to short-circuit these issues, then the analysis will be sub optimised. The person or organisation undertaking supply and value-chain analysis needs a high level of competence and knowledge. It requires perseverance to break down the supply-chain tiers and then a forensic approach to the cost.
